Echoes of past in Harbaugh-Kaepernick

Another thing: They played for mastermind coaches who needed a special quarterback to carry out their evil-genius plans for world domination.

Montana had Bill Walsh; Kaepernick has Jim Harbaugh.

The parallels are, if not eerie, at least striking.

Walsh and Harbaugh were Stanford coaches noted for quarterback grooming. Both were hired by the woebegone 49ers, by an owner from the Youngstown DeBartolo clan, and charged with defibrillating the flaccid franchise.

Both coaches were former quarterbacks who probably had a better grasp on NFL quarterbacking than any other NFL coach at the time. Both came to the league with a highly complex and unorthodox offensive system that required a unique quarterback, someone who could be groomed and mentored for a couple of seasons.

Walsh and Harbaugh weren’t looking for the classic big stud All-American who can make all the throws. Montana was too frail, his college career had steep hills and valleys, and his arm strength was suspect. Kaepernick played in a gimmick offense at a non-major school, and his throwing motion was flawed. Awkward, too much windup, maybe he was merely a taller Tim Tebow.

The two coaches had unconventional blueprints, so in their quarterbacks, they were looking for something deeper: a higher understanding of the game, a feel, a knack, a flair for moving quickly to Plan B, or inventing Plan C, because even a genius coach’s scheme breaks down from time to time.

Walsh was more the poet. In later years, he described his drafted quarterback as “smooth, lithe,” likened him to a ballet dancer.

Both coaches drafted former basketball players, Kaepernick in the second round and Montana in the third, and plugged them into the master’s system.

Walsh and Harbaugh were both unafraid to step on toes. To draft Montana, Walsh snubbed his Stanford QB, Steve Dils, considered by most experts to be the better quarterback, and certainly more reliable and consistent than Montana.

When Harbaugh saw that Kaepernick was ready, he had no hesitation in pushing aside his highly efficient and loyal starter, Alex Smith, universally considered more reliable and consistent than Kaepernick.

When Montana was promoted to starter midway through his second season, few believed he was ready to lead an NFL club. Exact same story for Kaepernick.

Not that either coach gave a fig what anyone else thought. Both knew they knew more than anyone in the media. More than anyone anywhere, really. Besides, neither coach buddied up to the media, which he considered something that had to be dealt with, like an inflamed appendix.

“There were some who were out to get me, so to speak, to embarrass me,” Walsh once said, and that quote wouldn’t be a bad fit for Harbaugh.

The coaches’ methods were not the same. Walsh, the Genius, could crack jokes, but that was his changeup. He was a tough guy, stingy with praise, aloof. He would rebuke Montana on the sideline for mistakes. Montana and Walsh became pals after football, and Montana calls him a father figure, but Joe’s teammates were accustomed to hearing him curse Bill under his breath.

“The last thing I wanted to be known as was a players’ coach,” Walsh once said.

Harbaugh is more the big brother, unabashedly proud and admiring of his players, quick to praise, to their faces and to the media. Mr. Positive. Remember his pregame pad-pounding routine with Smith?

Either method will work, if you have the coaching chops, and the right quarterback. Did each coach have the right quarterback?

Because even a genius can have doubts and make mistakes and get fooled, Walsh and Harbaugh must have had at least some reservations.

Both quarterbacks were quiet guys, maybe even sensitive, not your classic, snarling, swaggering team leaders.

Neither was really comfortable around the media, not the glib quote machine or natural conversationalist with strangers, a far cry from the gold standard of Steve Young, or even the comfortable Smith.

At some point, both Walsh and Harbaugh might have had a “Holy poop!” moment, when it became evident that all systems were go, that all the hope and effort wasn’t for naught, that they were indeed working with someone special.

Or maybe it was a steady upward curve. Walsh plugged Montana into easy game situations as a rookie and by the next training camp, installed him as The Future. Same with Harbaugh, who – in training camp this season – made it clear Kaepernick was a solid No. 2, the heir apparent.

If Harbaugh’s confidence in Kaepernick ever wavered, the coach gave no hints to the outside world. Before Saturday’s Green Bay game, Harbaugh said Kaepernick’s preparation was “savant-like.” How does that description sound now?

The coach seems happy with his quarterback. As one longtime observer of the 49ers’ scene said, “You can tell Harbaugh is stoked.”

The Walsh-Montana connection worked pretty well. Separately, they are in the conversations about best-ever coach and quarterback. Together, they might be the all-time dynamic duo.

Harbaugh and Kaepernick are just beginning. It would be cool if the Genius were still around to see it unfolding. He would be enjoying the show.